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Yeah. To contrast, one of the books that changed my life (well, fitness wise) was Rock, Iron, Steel - Justa's book of strength. It was about 15 pages long, and

Yeah. To contrast, one of the books that changed my life (well, fitness wise) was Rock, Iron, Steel - Justa's book of strength. It was about 15 pages long, and can be summarized as "go and find some heavy things, then lift and drag them around for the rest of your life. Don't skip any days in between. Expect results in 3-6 years". The book itself is pretty useless, but it was a reflection of "there's no science here, just start". I'm putting some hyperbole in that, but it was a distinct change for me at the time. Not saying I've got everything solved, but as a general rule if something causes me to spend more time imagining doing things than actually doing things, I try to avoid it. One of the aspects in all this that incites the want to attack the style of book is that some of this is basic beyond books, beyond anything else - eg, if you want to lose weight, eat less and get off your ass. You don't need a book, or a hack, or even clever thought about it. Go the hell outside and move around a lot. Full disclosure: I'm an Australian as well.

Mz 16y ago
My mother grew up in Germany during WWII and it's aftermath, struggling to survive and witnessing atrocities I can't imagine. She escaped East Germany as an underage teen with forged papers, claiming her infant niece was her own baby so she could return the child to its rightful mother who was not allowed to take her own baby home to West Germany after going to their mother's funeral in East Germany. My dad grew up in The Great Depression and fought in the front lines of two wars. He is also basically old enough to be my grandfather. Superficially, I am white, I am American and I am middle class. This causes many people to view me as culturally "white middle class American", which is not really accurate. It gets me into hot water because it causes my behavior to be wildly misinterpreted at times. I don't really do Christmas and other American holidays anymore. I don't see any real value in it. It's like a cultural meme of "salvation" -- knight in shining armor, Santa Claus, lottery tickets. I stopped speaking to one woman who was constantly whining to me about her utterly prosaic problems (as if they were the worst problems ever in the history of human kind and no one else had any) but turned a deaf ear to all attempts to gently suggest she do something about it. Her answer to absolutely everything was: It's someone else's fault and I'm going to win the lottery.
- momotomo 16y ago
  Salvation via consumption also seems to be the go. It baffles me that people think you need to buy something to fix a problem like emotional wellbeing / fitness / etc. Self help is one of the more insidious forms of consumerism, from my perspective.

Mz 16y ago

My mother grew up in Germany during WWII and it's aftermath, struggling to survive and witnessing atrocities I can't imagine. She escaped East Germany as an underage teen with forged papers, claiming her infant niece was her own baby so she could return the child to its rightful mother who was not allowed to take her own baby home to West Germany after going to their mother's funeral in East Germany. My dad grew up in The Great Depression and fought in the front lines of two wars. He is also basically old enough to be my grandfather. Superficially, I am white, I am American and I am middle class. This causes many people to view me as culturally "white middle class American", which is not really accurate. It gets me into hot water because it causes my behavior to be wildly misinterpreted at times. I don't really do Christmas and other American holidays anymore. I don't see any real value in it. It's like a cultural meme of "salvation" -- knight in shining armor, Santa Claus, lottery tickets. I stopped speaking to one woman who was constantly whining to me about her utterly prosaic problems (as if they were the worst problems ever in the history of human kind and no one else had any) but turned a deaf ear to all attempts to gently suggest she do something about it. Her answer to absolutely everything was: It's someone else's fault and I'm going to win the lottery.

momotomo 16y ago
Salvation via consumption also seems to be the go. It baffles me that people think you need to buy something to fix a problem like emotional wellbeing / fitness / etc. Self help is one of the more insidious forms of consumerism, from my perspective.